Overview
- The pro-military USDP says it secured 88 of 102 lower-house seats in the Dec. 28 round, a claim not yet confirmed by the Union Election Commission.
- The first phase covered 102 of 330 townships, with 65 townships excluded due to fighting, and two further rounds set for Jan. 11 and Jan. 25.
- Reports from multiple regions described explosions, air strikes and low turnout as the military insisted the polls were free and fair.
- Major opposition forces were barred, including the dissolved NLD whose leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains jailed, and a new law has charged hundreds for alleged poll disruption.
- China, Russia and India sent observers, while ASEAN’s chair said the bloc will assess developments carefully to avoid conferring premature legitimacy.